Maeve looked over to Cailean, who gave her a nod. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, then nodded as well before spurring her horse into movement. Together, she and Cailean led their rebel army forward on the march to freedom.
They had already achieved so much. But the fight for their future was just beginning.
17
Eoin jolted awake, grasping for his sword. Where was he? He tried to move, but agony shot through his chest, and he writhed in place, struggling against what felt like a binding around him. Where was Breana? What had happened?
A soft hand caught his, squeezing gently. "Eoin. Calm down. Ye're safe. I'm here."
He stilled, then turned his head to the side and saw her. Her voice was a soothing breeze, and the sight of her face, whole and vibrant andalive, was almost too much to bear. He grasped her hand desperately, barely able to believe that they were safe, wondering if perhaps he had already died and this was a dream.
"Breana," he breathed. Speaking caused that pain in his chest again, but he ignored it, though it made it hard to get the words out. "What happened? Where are we? The last I remember… the False King's men found us…"
She smiled, though there were tears in her eyes. She held on to his hand with her left one, while her right hand moved to stroke his hair. He closed his eyes at the touch, the comfort of the gesture stilling the panic in his heart.
"Ye saved me," she told him. "And I saved ye right back. Do ye remember?"
The memories came flooding back. Seeing Breana fall. The knife in his chest. The desperate race upon horseback. He had thought that last part a dream.
His eyes opened again, and he looked into her eyes, seeing the sheer relief on her face. "Ye saved me."
She sniffed, her tears now running down her cheeks, but her voice still strong. "Well, I cheated. The women here at the convent are the ones who truly saved ye. All I did was ride fast enough."
The convent. Eoin blinked, looking around him, fully taking in his surroundings for the first time. He was in a bed, a soft, comfortable one, and what he had initially thought were restraints was actually a warm blanket. His chest was tightly bound by bandages. He tried to sit up, but Breana gently forced him back down.
"Ye found it," Eoin whispered, scarcely able to believe it. "Not only did ye save me life, but yefoundit."
The creak of a door opening interrupted him, and another voice spoke. "Awake, are ye? Good."
"He is. Thank ye. So much," Breana said. "Thank ye all."
Eoin turned his head and saw an older woman approaching, followed by four other women, three of whom seemed very young. Immediately, he recognized the embroidery on the dress of the women—the little white sparrow that he had first encountered when his friend Ann had shown him that there was more to life than being Kyle Darach's son.
He had never met the leaders, though he had encountered several of the Sparrows themselves both before and after he had joined the rebellion. In fact, now that he was focusing harder, he realized that he knew one of these women—a Sparrow named Donella who had often interacted with Ann back when she was serving as Maeve's maid, what seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Donella," he said. "So it's true. This is the White Sparrows' hideout."
"It's a refuge," the older woman corrected. "A place where we take war orphans, lassies who have naewhere else tae go, and protect them. And, it seems, ye." She approached and checked his bandages. "It seems our healers did good work. Be more careful next time."
"It's more than that," one of the younger girls burst out as though she couldn't contain her words. "This is where they let those of us who want tae train and one day become Sparrows. This is where we learn tae fight, tae spy—tae get revenge for those who we've lost and help overcome the evil in this world."
The older woman shot a disapproving look behind her back, but did not object.
Breana cleared her throat. "It seems ye ken Donella, but allow me tae introduce ye." She indicated the girl who had spoken. "This is Catriona, and the others are Ciara and Iona. They are the ones who helped me save ye. They're… well, as Cat says, they're trainin' tae be Sparrows."
"Not all of us are," Iona said quietly. "Many of the lassies here just came for a home—for peace. Naebody is forced tae put themselves in danger. Those of us who become full Sparrows eventually leave and join Morag in the main base, where those like Donella usually live."
"Ye're all very talkative today," the older woman scolded, though she didn't sound too angry. She finished checking Eoin's bandages and retreated. "Ye'll need another day of bedrest. At least. Ye've already been here a day and a half; it's a wonder ye woke up at all."
Breana made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sigh. "And, Eoin, this is…"
"Laura," Eoin guessed. "If ye're nae Morag, then ye must be Laura, aye? I'm honored tae be in yer presence, me lady."
Laura snorted. "I'm nae lady. I'm a governess, then and now." Then her hard exterior softened a little. "Ye've been a friend tae the Sparrows for a long time, Eoin Darach. The honor is mine." Then she even smiled a little. "Beside, yer woman there may have slain me where I stood had I turned ye away."
Eoin looked back to Breana and saw a slight pretty blush appear on her cheeks. He smiled, warmth settling in his belly, and said, "She's nae mine nor anyone's. She's her own woman, through and through."
"That may be, but she made it quite clear ye'reherman," Ciara commented, earning an elbow in the side from Donella. "And besides, we owe her a debt. She's brought us news of Morag and Ann's capture and the fate of poor Dina. We now ken we need tae get word tae Blackthorn Castle tae try tae locate them. Honestly, we may try tae recruit Breana here as one of our own."
